Tag Archives: summer

When the weather is nice, we spend more time outdoors with the children. Playing in the back yard, at the playground or walking on nature trails are great ways to get fresh air and exercise.

What are ticks? – Ticks are small mites that attach themselves to skin and suck blood. Click HERE to see examples of ticks.

Where are ticks commonly found? – Ticks are normally found in areas with trees, bushes or tall grass. This includes back yards, parks, nature areas and most places you would be spending time with the children outdoors in the nice weather.

What needs to be done? – When you return home from areas where ticks might live, carefully check the children (their skin and scalp) for ticks.

Most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems. But it is important to remove a tick as soon as you find it. Removing the tick completely may help you avoid diseases such as Lyme Disease that the tick may pass on during feeding, or a skin infection where it bit you.

Drive-In Movie
Don’t forget about Bengie’s Drive-in Movie Theater in the Baltimore area. It’s a good hour drive from most of our cluster, but well worth it for the experience if you’ve never been to a drive-in movie. Check out my blog post about Bengie’s Drive-in.

The term “bucket list” was popularized in the 2007 Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman movie. The idea is to make a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket” (which is an idiom referring to death.) Even though that sounds kind of morbid, the idea has taken off as something much more positive and people create bucket lists to log the things they want to do at some point in their life.

With that said, a Summer Bucket list is a list of things to do before this summer ends.

When the kids are out of school for the summer, one place to cool off is at the movie theater. Below are three theaters in different parts of our cluster area that are offering $1 or free kid’s movies each week of the summer.

I suggest you arrive at least 15 minutes early to get a good place to sit. Some of the movies can be very popular and fill up.

Have all the kids make a bathroom stop before going into the movie.

Do your homework and google the movie that’s playing in advance to make sure it will be a good one for your child/ren.

As with any outing, ask your host parents before taking the child/ren to the movies.

If you take the kids to the movie in Silver Spring, check out thefountain in Silver Plazaafterwards. Bring a towel and a dry change of clothes for the kids. It’s hard to resist splashing in the fountain.

After the movie, do activities related to the movie:

Ask the children what were their favorite parts of the movie.

Find crafts related to the movie to complete with them.

Let the children act out parts of the movies. Use household items as props and dress up in costumes to make it more fun.

Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Drive-in movies are outdoor theaters where the movie is projected on a large screen and you watch from your car. There were once over 4,000 drive-in theaters in the U.S., now only a few hundred remain.

One of those still operating is right here in Maryland, in the Baltimore area. Bengies Drive-In has been in business since 1956. It is about an hour drive from most parts of our cluster, but since they are the only one left in the entire state of Maryland, that doesn’t sound so far.

Click here to visit the website

I have been taking my kids to drive-in movies at Bengie’s for the past few years and we love it.

The drive-in is only open Spring-Fall.

Drive-In Movie Tips for First Timers:

You pay one price whether you stay for 1, 2 or all 3 movies. *Cash only for admission*

You may stay in your car or bring chairs to sit in in front of your parking space.

If you go in the summer and plan to sit outside, bring insect repellent spray or bug bracelets.

If you go in the fall when the weather is cool, bring blankets.

You cannot bring in outside food or drinks, unless you purchase an outside food permit. I recommend you buy your snacks there. They have some interesting options that you don’t see at a regular movie concession stand and that’s part of the full experience.

Before you go, read the information on their website about headlights. You need to know how to disable your headlights when you are inside the movie.

You also need to figure out how to turn your vehicle to the “accessory setting” with your key. This will allow you to listen to the movie without draining your battery. VERY IMPORTANT

There is a note on their website about how to enter their address with GPS. There address is listed as “Middle River”not Baltimore on GPS.

I thought this video was a nice explanation of how to make the delicious summertime treat known as s’mores. If you really want to live it up, try replacing the Hershey Bar with a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup! Yum

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What is an Au Pair?

“Au pair” means “on par” or equal. Au pairs are 18-26 year olds from over 60 different countries who travel to the United States on a J-1 Visa to acquire a better understanding and appreciation of American life while living with an American family and caring for their young children.